“[1]

I’m still standing where the terror lives

Swear that I don’t wanna sleep but taking sedatives

For the pain

And they keep blaming me for being hurt, needing work, seeing certain defeat

In the mirror I see me

And it’s clear what reap we sowing over and over

Goals of a soldier—just tryna live. Look over our shoulders

Just hoping that knowing better, expecting fire to come

And still they ask, “If he wasn’t guilty, why did he run?”

For one, I’m guilty of being black as the night

And two, I’m too aware of your fear of it. Fight or flight

The righter right, in the brightest light, ain’t gone try to write my type of sight as the kind of plight that’ll spark the dynamite to make the world see

Me as a human being. Sure as breathing leads to dying

You and me ain’t seeing I the same. I done claimed victory before

It’s the history of my fore

Fathers and you ain’t ‘bout be bothered to try to learn it

[Hook]

If it’s all about these words I write

Then I hope that you receive ‘em

And more that you can believe ‘em

It seems nobody wants that...

They telling me back then it was bad to have black skin

I’m paying the cost now

And saying we lost how

We can make what little we have into something better

I think it’s all in the...

[2]

As sure as property costs and I gotta turn what I know into real estate

When the realest state of reality bites

And the dealer takes from the pot before the card’s even dealt

There’s other things on my mind that I’m more concerned with

Not what Momma taught—The Golden Rule—

“Do unto who…what was done to you.” This shit’ll be burning now

But the schools want me to think that I’m doomed—but I ain’t going

I’m living and trying to get it. I’m s’posed to be learning how

And they just teaching me to hate myself

‘bout chains that I’m s’posed to break myself

That ‘justice’ means “wait for help”

That ‘good life’ means “take for self.”

I’m busy redefining ‘great’ for self

So when you hear me say “word to words.” just know the purpose behind it

You see my work is defining me for myself

I still stand where the terror lives

And they keep telling me to take but instead I give…my word

[Hook]

If it’s all about these words I write

Then I hope that you receive ‘em

And more that you can believe ‘em

It seems nobody wants that...

They telling me back then it was bad to have black skin

I’m paying the cost now

And saying we lost how

We can make what little we have into something better

I think it’s all in the...”